FTSE 100 watch: Stronger sterling weighs on Footsie

Alice Young
May 24, 2018 1 min read

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The FTSE 100 has fallen into the red in today’s session, extending yesterday’s slide, with a rise in sterling weighing on the blue-chip index. In individual movers, shares in Intertek (LON:ITRK) have been in demand following the group’s trading statement released this morning.

FTSE 100 extends losses

As of 12:33 BST, the Footsie had lost 16.48 points to stand 0.21 percent lower at 7,771.96, pressured by stronger sterling which is weighing on blue-chips with exposure to foreign markets. The pound meanwhile has advanced on the back of upbeat retail sales data for May.

Today’s decline follows the index’s hefty fall yesterday, as well as a record high posted earlier in the week.

“The FTSE 100 hit a record high this week, but the bigger story has been one of steady and notable underperformance versus other world equity markets over the last couple of years,” said UBS analysts, as quoted by Reuters. “We see more interesting opportunities within the market, particularly the domestics.”

Individual stock news

Investors have also focused on company releases today, including Intertek’s trading update, with the company reporting a 4.4-percent rise in revenue at constant rates, and saying that it was on track to deliver its full-year targets. Intertek’s share price currently stands 3.40 percent higher at 5,350.00p.

Shares in Kingfisher (LON:KGF) meanwhile have been volatile after the DIY retailer updated investors on its first-quarter performance, revealing that its like-for-like sales had taken a hit as a result of bad weather. The group’s shares are changing hands 1.52 percent higher at 299.90p, having fallen nearly three percent earlier in the session.

The FTSE 100 index was 0.23 percent down at 7,770.14 points as of 12:46 BST on Thursday, 24 May 2018.

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